


there's blood in my soy milk!

by pinkcygnet



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Vampires, but they're kind of saving the world, constant disregard for education, if you notice me trying to push my subtle chuusoul agenda you mind your business, no beta equals extra the thrill, side lipseul but we all know who is endgame winky wink, so it's okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkcygnet/pseuds/pinkcygnet
Summary: kim jungeun, first year journalism major of Silas University, realizes her roommate is missing, and no one seems to really care! so instead of calling the cops, she decides the next best thing to do is to look for her herself. but first, she needs to find out how her replacement roommate is involved in this mystery, and why she keeps finding blood in her soy milk.orthe lipves carmilla au that i wanted to write. thank you.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip, Jo Haseul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Comments: 13
Kudos: 39





	1. Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> so i started working on this in october and after rewatching all of carmilla, i somehow got this new rush of determination to write something so uh, i hope you like it! i won't write this au exactly the same as how the web series goes since i'd like to add a little bit of my own creativity into it but also if things get a little wonky, i blame it on jaden jeong
> 
> i was going to try and fit this into 3 chapters, but i decided with my procrastination and time management skills, i should stick to the plan i made instead :]
> 
> oh, bonus points to those who catch the dreamcatcher cameo in this. if you know, you know, i thinkity thonkity

“You can’t seriously think that we’re dumb enough to believe that you’re innocent just because you say so.”

Jungeun stared hard at the girl, clad in a dark-coloured scheme outfit consisting of a corset and tight leather pants, currently tied up in nylon and bulbs of garlic. She folds her arms to assert her dominance (although it doesn’t seem to work judging by the roll of the other’s eyes).

“Is that really much of a stretch?” The girl huffs a strand of jet black hair away that was slowly starting to slide down her face. She would brush them aside, but—well, her hands were tied. “Look, if I were really a vampire, would I just sit here like some roasted suckling pig, proclaiming my innocence as some sort of trick?”

A moment of silence.

Until the others in the room turned to each other and nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” they unanimously mumbled.

“Um, I’m pretty sure that’s _exactly_ what a vampire would do! The evidence lies in the 40+ hours of video documentation we've collected.” A smug smile formed on Jungeun’s face as she leans back on her chair. “I bet you wished you watched my so-called stupid project now, huh, Sooyoung?”

The woman in question quirked a brow at Jungeun, unamused. "Okay. Fine, Lippie, I'm a—oooh—blood sucking vampire."

Jungeun jumped from her seat. "I KNEW IT!" she exclaimed before sinking back down and retracting the finger she had used to point at the accused. "—wait, stop calling me that!"

"What, _Lippie_ ? I dunno, I think it quite suits you since you just love to use that mouth of yours. Do you ever stop talking?"

"Anyway! You're the evil vampire that's been kidnapping all those girls!"

"And you're probably the reason why more girls went missing just tonight," Haseul chides in from behind, sitting at the edge of Jungeun's bed.

Sooyoung groans loudly. It could even be mistaken for a growl, but either way it made the girls jump. "Hah, you may have figured out my vampiric properties, Ms. Holmes," she jeered as she stares directly in Jungeun's eyes, "but I couldn't have made off with any of them because I was here with you," she whipped her head back to face the other three girls behind her, "and _then_ I was here being ambushed by _toddlers_ the whole time."

Sooyoung's voice was low and far more quiet than the usual confident voice she used, but it was evident on her pale face (it wasn't just the foundation this time) that she was seething with anger. It was as if they could quite literally see smoke coming out of her nose.

Jungeun gulped, feeling a bead of sweat roll down her cheek. She's glad they somehow managed to tie her down, or else they don't know what Sooyoung would be doing to them at this point.

But wait, you’re probably wondering what led up to this point? That’s a good question to ask, dear reader. The answer, however, may turn some heads.

Let’s rewind time to just three weeks since the first semester started of Silas University and watch the story unfold through the eyes of a student’s laptop whose camera just never seems to die.

Kim Jungeun, first year journalism major, had woken up to one less of a roommate on a Saturday morning. And that was the only roommate she's ever had.

It became apparent to her that Betty Cooper did not return that night from one of the many parties she attends per week.

The night prior to the discovery, while Jungeun was working on her video documentation of the university’s library catalogue possibly achieving sentience for “Intro to Investigative Reporting," Betty barged in hoping to celebrate the 62% she got on her latest test by having some fun with the swim team.

Jungeun questioned what there was to celebrate, but Betty argued that it was for the college experience that they should savour during their first year. If you considered the college experience as party-filled weeks.

Betty urged Jungeun to forget about the project and come with. It only took a couple minutes before Jungeun was coerced into dressing in something cute to party after learning that her TA she totally had not been crushing on, Jo Haseul, was going to be there.

And so, after some much needed socialization that the sheltered Kim Jungeun needed, alongside the amounts of alcohol taken in, the next morning wasn’t quite a shock when she woke up to her roommate’s empty bed. Jungeun had just assumed that she must have either gotten up earlier than she did, or she slept in someone else’s bed.

It wasn’t quite a shock. At first.

But after multiple calls unanswered and texts unread, it was as if her roommate completely vanished. Woosh, gone.

Perhaps there were clues left behind by her now missing roommate. And a certain clue came in the form of a slime-covered note that read, _“Dear Student, Unfortunately, your roommate no longer attends Silas…”_

There was more written, but Jungeun trailed off in confusion. Other than the slime, that note was absolutely bonkers! She knew Betty was a bit peculiar, yes, but there’s just no way she’d disappear like that.

Jungeun learns from complaining to the campus security that Betty must have really ran away.

Well, she didn’t really believe that, but that’s what they said over the call.

“No, no, no, you aren’t listening to me! I know the type of person she is, and she wouldn’t just decide to drop out in the middle of a Friday night with virtually none of her belongings!”

_“Ma’am, we understand your concerns, but—”_

“And what the hell is this ‘official’ notecard?! It’s just a multiple choice on the possible reasons why she’s gone!” Jungeun holds up the now dried off note to no one in particular. “ _Dear student_ ," she reads, “ _unfortunately, your roommate no longer attends Silas University. He or she either A) lost his or her scholarship and decided to go home, B) has elected to attend another school due to your extreme incompatibility—_ now who in the world decided that was a good choice to add? _—_ _C) experienced a psychological event that left him or her unfit for student life, or D) cited personal reasons_.”

_“Yes, as you can clearly read on the Official Notecard of Absence, your roommate—”_

“ _Exit procedures have commenced; no action on your part is required_ …This card was covered in a pile of ick that I’m pretty sure started growing MUSHROOMS the next day! But the mysterious goo card isn’t the problem here, is it?” Slamming down her hands onto her table for dramatic effect, she raises her voice at the man through the phone, “Since no one here seems to care that a student of theirs has gone missing, I’m going to need you to talk to the Dean of Students, and explain to her that—”

The line hangs up before Jungeun can continue, and by now she can feel her blood boil.

“They dare to hang up on me? After being so polite despite how they always interrupted me during my explanations?!”

This was when Jungeun started to realize her sanity was slowly drifting into the void of nothingness. But she needed to stay in check.

So she started documenting her descent into insanity, completely forgetting about the journalism project she had to do. Maybe if she were to record every step she took, she could gather enough evidence into her roommate’s disappearance. Just writing information down never stuck with Jungeun, so combining her passion into this project she’s set up for herself would most definitely help.

—

**Vlog 1: Case of the Missing Roommate**

Jungeun begins with stepping out of the comfort of her dorm and asking around for anyone that’s been to the swim team’s party that night.

And Jungeun ends the day fruitless, speaking to her laptop's camera stationed atop her desk about all the uselessness of this school’s staff and students.

“At first, I thought the staff were terrible, but have you ever met such useless students in your life?” Jungeun stares blankly into her laptop’s lens. “You know what, don’t answer that.”

The brunette slumps over, resting her head on the palm of her hand, tugging at the tank top she wore with the other. “If I were to guess, there were probably hundreds of people at that mixer, yet when I asked around, no one knew ANYTHING! Take our floor don, Vivi, for instance,” she straightens out her back, pursing her lips, “ _Hm, I may have seen her dancing across the quad, but I don’t know. Things just got so foggy after the alchemy guys released the, you know, the fog…_ “

“Oh! Don’t forget those girls from Zeta Omega… Loon?” Jungeun clears her throat, “ _Uh, you mean that hottie in a pink halter? HAH! I hit like three of those last night, chiquita._ “

With a deep breath, Jungeun continued on with her imitations. “ _But wasn’t she with you?_ “

…

“Yeah, she was… hnnNNG GOD! Why didn’t I keep track of her? I don’t even know what I did last night. How the hell am I going to find her if I don’t remember anything?!”

The door suddenly swings open, and Jungeun almost jumps from her seat in surprise.

A simple “hey” came from the girl that barged right in before throwing her belongings onto Betty’s bed.

Everything about her just _screamed_ rebel, the complete opposite of ol' sheltered Jungeun. She wore leather pants that looked way too tight to fit into (although Jungeun wasn't gonna lie that it definitely accentuated certain areas… ahem). Her straight, jet black hair was so long it reached down to her nonexistent waist. She wore a black, v-neck shirt with the My Chemical Romance logo bolded on the front, and would you look at that, nicely polished nails, as dark as the endless void that is Jungeun's brain. Her makeup was nicely done as well. The use of eyeliner, dark eyeshadow, and foundation lighter than the rest of her neck may look excessive, but it fits the aesthetic.

And wow do those crimson lips look plump.

“Umm, excuse me, but who are you?” Jungeun asks, choking out a cough and scooting her swivel chair to the side so that her new company could be seen on the screen.

Jungeun waited impatiently as the new girl took her sweet time unpacking what seems to be her own set of clothes. She admits that she has a quick temper, but at least the view was quite nice. She’d never such things out loud, though.

Fortunately (and unfortunately) for Jungeun, it didn’t take too long for the mysterious girl to speak up once again. As she turned around to face her, maybe Jungeun was having second thoughts about immediately kicking out the beauty that descended from the heavens above—

“Sooyoung, Ha Sooyoung. Your new roommate, sweetheart.”

Jungeun sat dumbfounded. Not at how the other girl’s amorous tone lingered on the ‘sweetheart’ part, but because she was pretty sure she was still in the process of investigating her missing roommate’s whereabouts.

“My what?”

“Your new roommate.”

“But I already have a roommate.”

Sooyoung chuckles lowly, walking over to the mini fridge in the corner near the door to store unidentifiable bags of liquid. “Wow, you catch on quite fast don’t you.”

“No, I mean I have a pre-existing one, a roommate prior to your unwanted entrance, her name's Betty!" Jungeun's brows deepened.

"Hmm… your wrinkles kinda look like there's a face when you frown, aha."

"I—ANYWAY! You're not my roommate, Betty is."

Sooyoung smirks at the brunette. "Oh yeah? Where's she now, then?"

"She's…" Jungeun bites her lip, turning towards the camera, "I don't know. She's missing at the moment."

"Oh, I see." And for a moment, Jungeun thought the other girl actually felt sympathy for her, until she started mockingly wiping fake tears away.

"Look, I—"

"So you're telling me that you can't magically produce this Betty girl or something, but you wanna kick me out just as I got here?"

"Maybe if you didn't cut me off, I'd have said I would like to be willing to discuss this more with you. It's just that with everything that's happened so far—" Jungeun jumps off of her chair, "What are you doing??"

The other girl ignores Jungeun once again like she did just moments ago. She digs through Betty's purse that was left on the bed, snatching a couple bills before moving to the nightstand. "Well, the thing is," Sooyoung starts, still not facing Jungeun, "I may not have a missing roommate, but what I do have is a letter from the Dean of Students that says I live here now."

Jungeun stares at the piece of paper that dangled from Sooyoung's fingers back and forth.

Yeah, Jungeun contacted the Dean (and campus security of course) to help her find her missing roommate, but she didn't mean she wanted a new one!

Jungeun swats the paper away. "Stop that! Those are not yours to take!" she exclaims. Seeing Sooyoung hold up one of Betty's obnoxiously pink crop tops, she snatches it from her. "And this isn't your room, either."

"Tell you what, cupcake, if you manage to materialize Betty back into this plane of existence, then I'll hit the road and you'll never have to see me ever again. But until then…" Sooyoung kicks her docs off and plops herself onto what once was Betty's bed.

"Oh this is totally not happening, and you're not my new roommate!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll believe it."

"Grr, I'm gonna find Betty, and you're gonna be out of here so fast there's gonna be scorch marks on those leather pants of yours!!"

Jungeun angrily returns to her desk, staring at the camera with a newfound look of determination in her eyes. Sooyoung may have tuned her out by blasting Joe Godsil by The Gretchens, but all that Jungeun needs to know is that she won't let some punk ass girl take over.

But that vision is soon destroyed as Jungeun sits at the desk, camera on, three days into being roommates with Ha Sooyoung.

"Goodmorning, camera-kun, today marks the third day of my growing insanity and the incursion here in room 307, and my real roommate is still nowhere to be found!" Jungeun walks over to the fridge, taking out a carton of milk. She makes a weird face after reading “MINE” written on each side in red marker. She she shakes her head and sits back at the desk. "My OG roomie has officially been replaced by the roommate from hell. Don't believe me? Let's roll the surveillance. By surveillance, I mean I left my laptop's camera on the entire time."

Jungeun notes to herself to add the videos later as she records her voice over while going through them.

"Exhibit A: she lacks awareness of personal space. She keeps wearing Betty's clothes, steals my pearl milk tea drinks whenever I bring them home, never does chores, and s-she just wiped her foot on my bed! Aww, damn it!"

"Ugh, the longer I watch the videos, the weirder Sooyoung seems to me. It's like she sleeps all day until 4 PM, not surprising since she's up all night with some girl from my anthropology class. In MY BED."

"But no, it's fine. When Sooyoung's latest," Jungeun air quotes, "'study buddy' came over, I may have mentioned that she had a raging case of cold sores and that she should probably get herself checked out because of how contagious those are. Worked like a charm, she skedaddled right out the door and boom! Revenge is mine, mua ha ha ha."

Jungeun picks up the milk container, "And so is this super special soy milk that Sooyoung says I'm not supposed to touch because _that's just the way the world works, cutie_ ."

"Oh yeah, well ffffu...FRICK her and her stupid rules!"

Jungeun laughs heartily at the camera as she pours the carton of milk into her bowl of Lucky Charms. But instead of soy milk that came out, there was a scream and a sticky red liquid spilled all over the desk.

Now, Jungeun was no bio major, but that certainly didn't mean she didn't know what blood was when she saw it.

—

**Vlog 2: Lucky Charms (now served with low-fat Type-O)**

"Look, look! That is blood. _Blood_ , in what should have been soy milk. In my creepy yet very attractive roommate’s soy milk.” Jungeun turned to the two girls beside her, “She’s gotta go, right?” Swiftly, she moves the chair away from the desk and leans into the camera. “There’s no other meaning to this but a DEATH THREAT, I’m sure! T-This is a health code violation, this Sooyoung has got to go!”

Vivi ran a hand through her hair. “There’s no denying that it’s definitely a little odd.”

“Odd?” Jiwoo scrunched her nose at the shorter girl. “That’s where you're going with this? Viv, how many people are there that you know of likes type-o with their Lucky Charms?”

“Okay, Woo, you know you’re not here in an official capacity. So, as Jungeun’s _actual_ floor don—”

“Are you really gonna try and pretend that this situation isn’t a total freak show?” Jiwoo asked, picking up the carton of blood and holding it up in front of Vivi with only her thumb and index finger. Ir fascinated her, but there was no way she was going to touch that questionable substance with her bare hands.

Vivi took the carton and placed it back on Jungeun’s desk. “But we haven’t even given this roommate a chance to explain herself. For all we know, it could very well just be some… protein supplement!”

“For extreme hemoglobin deficiency,” says Jiwoo flatly.

“You’re not helping.”

Introducing Vivi and Jiwoo, two new interesting characters for Jungeun’s video documentation of her missing roommate case. But she takes a step back with the investigation and is now focused on just who this new invader is.

Wong Vivi, third year German major, Jiwoo’s roomie, linguistically talented being that’s fluent in five other languages, and the don of Jungeun’s floor who’s in charge of keeping the students safe, feeling welcomed, and offering personal or academic support. She’s only a few inches shorter than Jungeun’s 5 ft 3 inch self, but don’t mistake her height and golden brown curls as a reason to be careless around her, because when she’s mad, her glare induces painful flashbacks to times when you’ve severely disappointed your mother in the past. And that’s never a good feeling.

Kim Jiwoo, first year bio major, Vivi’s roomie, guilty of making the sun lose his job purely because of her existence, and highly interested in the occult, sometimes taking Haseul with her on her expeditions across campus to go fairy hunting, or somewhere along the lines of. She's quite childish in appearance, having dyed her hair reddish brown and always keeping them tied in low twintails. Don't underestimate her though. Just because her mind constantly runs on unicorns and rainbows, it doesn't mean she's useless when some serious brains are needed in a situation.

“I know you wanna pretend the weird here’s all just a big misunderstanding, Viv, but in my world, the alchemy club’s press gang’s test subjects are in the caf. So, as this floor’s…” Jiwoo trails off at the glare Vivi gives her, “ _...unofficial_ truth speaker, I’m gonna tell Jungie here that she needs to wise up if she intends to survive all this.”

“OH, see, yes. Yes, yes, I like that plan. Surviving. I intend to make it through my college life without dying.” Jungeun nods her head rapidly. “And in order to do that, my life must be rid of Sooyoung,” she whispers into the camera.

Vivi strokes her chin in thought. “I understand how you feel, but don’t you think you oughta talk to her first? A lot of things can easily be solved through some healthy communication.”

“A Lot of problems can also be solved by taking hair and blood samples.”

Jungeun didn’t think much at first glance when it came to Jiwoo. She’s cute, that’s been established, but it’s that very image that makes those words much more creepy than it should have been, she reminded her very much of those porcelain dolls her grandmother keeps a collection of. The the syringe she pulled out of her pocket didn’t help her image.

“Woah! I—um. That… okay, hmm.” Jungeun takes a step back from Jiwoo and her itchy trigger fingers.

“Well, it’s a good thing you came to me for help first, Jungeun, but I don’t think there’s really anything else we could do.” Vivi takes the syringe out of Jiwoo’s hand calmly as if she was used to it. “Especially you, Jiwoo. I won’t be condoning any collecting of blood samples for things other than academic purposes.”

“Boo, you’re no fun. Such a killjoy!”

Jungeun sighs, pulling her chair out from the desk and taking a seat. “If you can’t help me, then maybe I should go to the Dean.”

Vivi and Jiwoo turned to each other, eyes widening.

“Uh, that’s not really a good idea, I think…”

“Vivi’s right, you better just handle this yourself.”

“By complaining to the Dean, you’d probably just draw more attention to yourself, and you don’t want that.”

Jiwoo hums in response. “They could stick you with someone much worse, like a draco-pyromaniac, you know?”

The two laugh at the thought, leaving Jungeun puzzled.

“I’m sorry, a draco-pyro what now—”

“Besides! Your old roommate will probably be back soon and then Sooyoung will have to move out,” Vivi says, rubbing Jungeun’s shoulder to comfort the girl. “I mean, it’s what happened to all the other girls who disappeared.”

Huh.

Oh.

Oh?

The three’s eyes met each other in the sudden realization.

Jungeun grabbed the older girl’s hand with a firm grip. “W-W-Wait, I’m sorry, did you just say ‘all the other girls who disappeared’ as in this has happened before and nobody has said anything?”

“It was nothing unusual.” Vivi weakly tries to pull her hand away, but Jungeun resists. “They were mostly just girls who, you know, wanted to have a good time and got too carried away.”

“Vivi, it was _completely_ unusual.” Jiwoo turns to Jungeun. “Jungeun, how do you not know of this? Both girls just went missing for two days then showed up again in a dorm room or psych classroom with no memories at all! Like they were abducted by aliens so they could have experiments performed on them, but once they were done they were just discarded. At least, that’s my take on it.”

“That alien theory seems pretty plausible…”

“It was frosh week, they just had too much to drink, believe me.”

“Yeah, ‘cuz that causes random disappearances, Viv.”

“Really, Woo?”

Jungeun finally lets go of Vivi’s hand, getting out of her seat and putting socks on to go out. “Okay. I need to talk to these girls. Like, right now!”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea! Except maybe not right now. They weren’t hurt or anything, but they’re a little shaken up and you’re a little, how should I put this… intense.”

“Intense?” The brunette stops in the middle of tying her converse, looking up at the other two. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She means that the victims are traumatized,” Jiwoo circles her pointer finger at Jungeun, “and you’re on a mission, girl.”

“But I’ll ask the girls if they’re willing to talk to you, Jungeun. When they are, hopefully it’d be soon, okay?”

“Yeah…”

The sound of heels clacking against the wooden floor grew louder as Sooyoung walked through the door wearing another one of Betty’s shirts, barely sparing a glance at Vivi and Jiwoo.

Vivi looks at Jungeun to confirm if that was the roommate they were just talking about. “Oh, you must be Sooyoung!”

“Must I be…” Sooyoung says lowly, tossing her bag onto her bed and casually changing out of her clothes.

Vivi lightly hit the other two as she caught their eyes wandering. She’s not blaming them, but she’d at least like some common decency.

“Well, it’s so nice to have you on the floor. I’m sure we’ll be seeing… more of you. Around. The dorms, I mean. Right, Jiwoo? Oh, and Jungeun,” Vivi leans into the brunette’s face, “ _communication_ .”

With that, Vivi makes her way out the door. Jiwoo follows but not before letting Jungeun take a glimpse at the syringe once more, her eyes flitting to Sooyoung.

Jungeun grumbles to herself as she watches Sooyoung wordlessly search through the fridge.

_And she doesn’t even remove her shoes before walking in… she really is a monster._

“Yeah, you’re not going to find your _soy milk_ in there.”

Sooyoung stops her searching and turns towards Jungeun. “Geez, don’t need to get your panties all twisted, it was just a prank.”

“My panties twist—? You filled this carton with blood and it’s just a prank? I had to throw away a bowl of perfectly good cereal because of you!”

“It’s not blood, it’s just red food colouring and like, corn syrup.”

“Ugh, you’re such a freak!” Jungeun groans.

Sooyoung takes a can of soda (that was probably Jungeun’s) instead and rests on her bed. “There are worse things to be.”

“Sure. How about ‘Cold Sore Sooyoung’ then? That would be worse.”

“Ohhh, so you’re the one spreading those little rumours? Nice try.”

Jungeun angrily swivels away from the girl, facing the camera.

“That bunched up face you make when you’re mad humours me, buttercup.”

“I wonder how humorous it’d be if I got the Dean to kick you out!”

Sooyoung chuckles. “You whining to the Dean? Wow, I’d pay to see that.”

“Oh my god, you annoy the hell out of me.”

“Truly? Most say I look like I fell from heaven.”

“You must have landed real hard, then.”

“Hardy har,” the corners of Sooyoung’s lips turn upwards in amusement. “You know, I wasn’t too thrilled about this new roommate thing either, but maybe I wouldn’t be all too bored during my stay, Lippie.”

Jungeun scrunches her nose. “ _Lippie_ ? What happened to cupcakes and buttercups?”

“Despite your annoyance towards me, you don’t seem to want to stop talking back.”

“Of course I’d like to stop, but silence means defeat.”

“I think Lippie quite suits you.”

“Argh!”

—

**Vlog 3: The Interview**

“So earlier this year, there was this thing where you two kinda disappeared—”

“Quite the devastating interrogation technique you got there, Lippie.”

Jungeun groaned as she rolled her eyes. “Please ignore my roommate, she’s a sociopath.”

“Oh, uh, okay…”

“Wait, let’s quickly start over, I didn’t have the camera on when you introduced yourselves.”

“That’s okay,” says a taller girl with silver hair tied in a low ponytail. She shifts her position on Jungeun’s bed and faces the camera as she speaks, “I’m Kim Rachel.”

“And I’m Lee Emma.” The other sat cross legged, swiping a piece of her shoulder length red hair behind her ear.

“Vivi came to us earlier and said that you wanted to speak to us about the, um, incident…”

“Of course!” Jungeun clapped enthusiastically, “So tell me—within your comfort zone—everything and anything you remember the night before you went missing.”

Emma hesitated, so Rachel spoke up first. “It was pretty freaky. One second I’m at the swim team’s under the sea party, downing Fizzy Dagons, then boom. Woke up at my dorm room with people yelling at me, saying that it’s been two days since I was last seen.”

Jungeun jots down everything Rachel says. “And the exact same thing happened to you, Emma?”

“Pretty much. I was at a wine and cheese, then the next thing I knew I was standing in the middle of a lecture hall.” Emma lets out a sigh. “I don’t remember anything in between.”

Rachel hums in agreement.

“So you don’t remember anything? Nobody, nothing you saw, not even anything that could’ve struck you as odd?”

Sooyoung laughs under her breath at the back of the room near the fridge, looking up from the small book she’s been reading since before the girls came.

Jungeun holds herself back from letting out her frustration and possibly scaring the girls away, so she proceeds with the interview.

“I literally can’t think of anything after that night, or before my supposed reappearance. Neither can Emma, but Dagons do have a ton of sambuca in them…”

“There’s the scoop of the century.” Sooyoung slowly walks over to her bed, continuing to read her book without looking up.

“Feel free to shut it.”

“Anything for you, Lippie.”

“Ah,” Emma’s eyes widen in sudden realization, “there was nothing from the time I was gone, but there were these dreams before.”

“Dreams?”

“The same dream over and over.” Emma shudders at the thought. “I'm in the dark, in my bed, then there’s something like a large cat? Or maybe it was a lizard, it was on the floor by the bed prowling. Or it was a figure with dark hair and a white dress just standing over me, and the darkness is in my eyes, then in my throat, then I can’t breathe, and—”

The tune of The Twilight Zone interrupts Emma’s story.

All eyes turn to Sooyoung sprawled all over her bed. She shakes her head at their confusion and proceeds to whistle the X-Files theme instead, something more their… generation.

Jungeun felt the bubble burst. “Sooyoung, what the hell?!”

“Sorry, I’m kinda grumpy since my _soy milk_ was thrown out this morning.”

“I-I, um. I’m sorry, Jungeun, but I was okay earlier but now I don’t think t-that I… I’m sorry, I can’t be here. I have to go.”

Emma rushes out the door, Rachel chasing after her.

Sooyoung smirks, closing her book and setting it down on the nightstand. “If someone’s going around kidnapping a bunch of girls, I can see why they threw those two back.”

“Sooyoung!!”

“Woopsie, did I accidentally screw up your big break there, Veronica Mars?”

Jungeun bit her lips. She tried to hold back earlier, but there wasn’t much strength left in her to do so. “What is wrong with you?! Those girls had something terrifying happen to them and all you can do right now is make crappy jokes!” She takes a moment to breathe in deeply before continuing. “Are you really so damaged that you’re incapable of caring about anything?”

In those few seconds that Sooyoung didn’t speak, Jungeun almost thought she struck something in the older girl, but she should know by now to never trust those fleeting moments of hope.

“Do you really think you’re doing something to help those girls? To help oh, so poor Betty.”

“At least I’m trying to do something!”

“Are you trying your very best? Oh, I’m sure with that pure heart of yours it’ll definitely make a difference.”

“It’s better than lounging around pretending to be all cool and acting disaffected like a certain someone. I came to Austria in hopes for a good education, new friends, and a kickstart in my boring, sheltered lifestyle back in Korea. Now that something interesting is happening, I need to be in on it, especially since my roommate is involved!”

“Well sorry to burst that little hope of yours, but do you think you’re doing even a lick of actual good? Do you know anything you didn’t know the day before she vanished?” Sooyoung’s tone grew harsher and harsher. “You’re a child, and you understand _nothing_ . Not about life, not this place, and certainly not about what it takes to survive in this world. The sooner you stop trying to play Lois Lane, the sooner you can go back to your normal, boring life.”

Jungeun wasn’t gonna lie, she could feel the tears threatening to drop as word after word came from Sooyoung’s lips, but she wasn’t going to let her win. Not now, not ever. Not until she finds out what happened to those girls.

“No.”

“What?”

“Maybe you’re right, maybe I’m just a child, but I’m not just gonna give this up. I thought university was gonna be full of adventure where nothing bad could happen, but numbskulls get hammered at parties and girls go missing, but nobody cares!” Jungeun twists her chair to face Sooyoung, a determined look on her face. “Maybe that’s the way the world works, but there’s no way I’m accepting it. I deserve better, Betty deserves better… even freaks like you do.”

“The first thing I'll work on for you is getting you subscribed to Fenty Beauty.”

“Why would I want that?” Sooyoung grumbled.

“Because only Rihanna could help you find foundation that actually matches your skin tone.”

Jungeun begins furiously typing away at the keyboard before Sooyoung could respond.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting this journalism project up online for all the university's students to see. If anyone knows anything about anything, then they can help."

"That sounds awfully annoying for the university… and the Dean."

"Then she can come and talk to me about it."

"Ohoho, I think she might."

"Whatever, it's up." Jungeun cracks her knuckles and eases up the tension in her shoulders. "With all the students being able to help, we can crack the case sooner than—"

Sirens blared almost as soon as Jungeun uploaded the missing roommate project online.

Sooyoung looked at Jungeun with amused eyes, while fear stared into hers. "You've done it now, Lippie."

Vivi and Jiwoo burst through the door frantically.

"Quick! They've called a town hall, run, run!" Vivi took Jungeun's wrist and pulled her out of the room.

Sooyoung gets up slowly and looks at the camera, a smirk evident on her face before shutting it down.

—

**Vlog 4: A Necessary Meeting**

“That was… harrowing, to say the least.” Jungeun uses a towel to wipe away at brown smudges all over her cheeks. It doesn’t seem to be coming off easily, so she decides to deal with that after recording. “Anyway, the real question is awaiting us. Has Silas’ byzantine bureaucracy finally realized the need to discuss the missing girls?” She takes a deep breath, recollecting herself from the adrenaline still present from earlier. “Big fat NOPE! Apparently, uploading anything inflammatory to the Silas internet triggers an immediate security response. They can’t even spell internet correctly, they kept calling it the ‘ethernet’! Hags…”

A figure comes from the left of the screen. “I think I got the worst of it out. Thanks for letting me use your bathroom, Jungeun.”

The brunette leaped from her chair. “Oh! Ah, totally! I have to apologize about the level of filth, my roommate is kind of a little too lax about hygiene.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve had my fair share of nightmare roommates.” She throws a reassuring smile at Jungeun. “So your roommate was the one glaring daggers into us on the walk back, right? The one that kinda looks like a ghost.”

Jungeun stifles a laugh. “Yep, but don’t let her hear you said that.”

“Right, so where is she?”

“She has this talent of dematerializing within twenty feet of unwashed dishes.”

The shorter girl nods, continuing to dry her hair off with a towel she borrowed from the bathroom. She stops shortly after noticing Jungeun’s laptop.

“Hey, are you making another video? Like, eight hot seconds after being busted by the dean?”

“...Yes?”

“That’s... pretty ballsy, Kim Jungeun.”

Jungeun straightens out her back. “Right! Ballsy, that’s me, aha ha.” _God how much more awkward can I get_ . “Besides, Jiwoo thinks she’s figured out a way to post them safely, and I have to report on the crazy that went on at town hall. But before that!” Jungeun skips across the room to grab another chair. “Everyone, meet Jo Haseul, my very awesome and reliable Lit TA. Also the vice president of Summer Society.”

“Which is an outdoor social club for all girls athletics. We host the school’s annual Adonis festival and hunt. Um, hi Jungeun’s audience.” Haseul runs a hand through her hair, letting the strands fall to her shoulders. “It’s nice to be here.”

“I wouldn’t say I have much of an audience yet, but it _is_ nice to have you with me.” Jungeun couldn’t help but stare into those hazel eyes, for a second she lost her train of thought. “Here. I mean it’s nice to have you here with me.”

Haseul smiles at her, amused, and Jungeun could feel heat rushing up her neck.

“So anyway, the town hall! We were all packed in the auditorium and the dean stands up, and holy crap is she six feet of power suited, middle aged glamazon. And says,” Jungeun clears her throat, “ _it has come to the attention of the university that a certain individual, or individuals, are circulating rumours about the students disappearing. Rest assured, if these disturbances do not cease, the perpetrators will be dealt with._ “

“Oh my god,” Haseul snorted, lightly touching Jungeun’s shoulder. And if Haseul noticed, then she didn’t say anything about the way the brunette’s body froze up at the sudden contact. “That imitation is too spot on!”

“Thanks! I take pride in that, aha… anyway, at this point I’m pretty sure I’m going to be expelled because nobody is saying anything—probably because they’re afraid she’s going to suck their souls through their eyeballs, but then HASEUL gets up and just—”

“No, no, it wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“It really was!”

Haseul shook her head, speaking into the camera. “I simply wanted to point out that the Dean of all people shouldn’t be calling a missing persons report a rumour when even one of our own members went missing at a rush party.”

“See? Totally amazing. As in, you’re a really brave person who stands up for people who can’t do so for themselves. Like, that kind of amazing.”

“Thanks, Jungeun. Not that it meant much after the Zetas started in on that safety patrol crap.”

Jungeun took this as a chance to show off her skills some more. “ _The sisters of Zeta Omega Loon have decided that it is uncool for young, vulnerable women to feel unsafe going to parties or making their walks of shame at 4 AM._ “

Haseul decides to join in on the fun, too. “ _And so, we’ve decided that we’d personally protect every female on campus that’s 7.5 or higher._ What do they even mean by that?”

“I’m not sure, but if I’m being honest, something like that sounds like something a stupid frat would do.”

“Well, I wouldn’t blame it on the whole sisterhood, I think it’s just Jinsol being weird again. But even so, rather than have a personal bodyguard for each student, we should reinstate our night marches.”

“Uh, I completely agree! But when Haseul and the Summer society suggested that,” Jungeun looks back and forth from the camera, “the alchemy department started freaking out because apparently that’s going to _ruin some mycological transitions_ .”

“They’re just such strange little creepers!”

“Then some group of guys piped in with this chant that pretty much sounded like ‘pizza or death!’ to which I don’t even know the context of.”

“And some idiot started throwing salted herring into the crowd! Like, where does he get all that?!”

“Right? So the Dean ended town hall before anything actually helpful to the situation could be talked about. Dammit!” Jungeun flailed her arms in frustration.

“Can I just…” Haseul reaches into Jungeun’s hair, and before that weird little feeling in Jungeun’s stomach could kick in, Haseul pulls out a fish and lays it onto the desk.

“Eww, thanks. I thought I got it all out already. So, um, the meeting kind of sucked.”

“I think it was a little more than kind of.”

“Okay, so the meeting sucked a lot. But I’m really glad I ran into you…” Jungeun confessed, and by now she’s pretty sure her face is completely flushed, it doesn’t help that Haseul is staring directly at her.

Haseul smiles sweetly, her eyes disappearing in crescents. “Hey, me too. I never would’ve thought a girl like you be the one to launch us all into this mess. But then again, do journalists typically hurl themselves into wild situations like these?”

“Hah, let’s hope I survive the next few years and live long enough to find out.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. And I’ll be right beside you along the way.”

“Thanks Haseul, I—wait. What?”

“I’ll help you out with this missing persons case with you. Let’s collaborate, compare notes and all that, figure things out together, and you can document the investigation here. I think we’d make a pretty good team, Kim.”

“T-Together? That sounds great! Absolutely.”

“Cool.”

With nothing else to say, the two sat in several seconds of silence and uncertain glances at each other, letting the clock on the wall’s ticks and tocks fill the room instead.

Jungeun is about to break the silence first, but Haseul beats her to it, reaching for Jungeun’s hands and squeezing it lightly. “Well, I’m gonna go get my notes on our missing sister. I’ll catch you later.”

“Before you go, how about we exchange numbers so that we can catch up with each other easily?”

“Sounds like a good idea, here.” Haseul unlocks her phone, handing it to Jungeun so she can dial her number to save later. “Call me if you need anything, even if it isn’t related to the case.”

“Oh! Uh, great! Thanks for that.”

“Anytime.”

Haseul waves goodbye, and Jungeun watches her figure disappear down the hall before she closes the door and happy dances around the room in excitement, throwing a fist up in the air at every step like a little kid.

So, that was an eventful day, and Jungeun’s discovered that her roommate can only reveal so many layers of her wretched personality at a time, the only victims that came back from being kidnapped prove little to no help, the Dean of Students is wack, and the entire student body is mostly unreliable.

At least something good came out of everything. Perhaps a messenger of god in the form of Jo Haseul. Maybe the past week isn’t all too bad.

Until blonde hair enters Jungeun’s vision and all of a sudden all the energy is drained from her body.

“Hey, little nerd hottie! I’m your designated safety companion. Kinda like an escort!”

“Note to self: I really should start the habit of locking my door properly.”


	2. Surveillance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eyyy chapter 2 here we go! so i'm still a high school student, idrk how university/college works other than the things my friends that are in uni/college have said or what i read online lmaooo but i've been searching so many things up and wasting my life away rewatching all of carmilla season 1 that i hope you comment after reading this or i'll be sad >:[
> 
> anyway i hope you enjoy! side lipseul anyone?

**Vlog 4: A Necessary Meeting (Continued)**

“Uhm. Excuse me, you’re what?”

“Woops, I’m sorry, I meant _we_ are your designated safety companions, for whenever you’re in need of traveling around campus!” Jinsol placed her hands on her hips, striking a pose before grabbing a girl’s arm from behind her. “This is Hyejoo! She looks like she can kill, and she can—which is probably good that she’s on our side—but she’s a sweetheart!”

A younger girl awkwardly shifted to Jinsol’s side, bearing an annoyed look on her face. She reminded Jungeun of Sooyoung. Not so much in features, but the certain vibe she gave off just radiated the smug, coolness that Sooyoung usually gives off.

“It’s very, uh, considerate of you to offer safety. But as you can see, I’m in the safety of my room, so I think you’re good to go.”

“But what if you wanna go somewhere else?”

“Then I’m sure I’ll think of something.” Jungeun began to slowly shoo the two out of the door. “I’ve already had enough strangers come in here, no thanks to my roommate.”

Hyejoo snickered, “You sure you want to take that risk? I mean, the campus isn’t really safe for a girl alone at night. You’ve got boxy shoulders and noodle arms, I don’t think they’re the best mix.”

“That’s not—!”

“We made a vow—”

“ _You_ made a vow,” Hyejoo corrected.

“ _I_ made a vow that if there’s a hottie,” Jinsol and Hyejoo pound their chest with a fist, “we’ll be there.”

“Sounds very chivalrous,” says Jungeun monotonously. “How about a compromise? If for some reason I decide to go wandering around some dark alleyways against my better judgement late at night, you two will be my first call.”

Jinsol’s eyebrows shot up in excitement, and Jungeun can only wonder how she gives them so much expression for something so bleached to the point it’s almost invisible. “For reals?”

“Yes, really.” And Jungeun was almost about to relax, but then the blonde starts to open up the duffle bag she had been wearing onto Jungeun’s bed. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Yeah, yeah, but I think we should just stick around for now, just for a little bit! For the night, or so.”

“Woah, okay, uh there is no way you’re staying the night. I don’t know either of you, and my roommate might finally see this as a chance to kill me when she comes back!”

“Relaaax! We aren’t strangers, I know you, you’re in my lit class. You helped me on the first day with that Beobab guy!”

“Beowulf?”

“Right, him! That’s why I picked you special.” Jinsol rustles through the bag, taking out various items out. “Seeing how you like British stuff so much, I brought some fine-ass stout.” She holds up the bottle like they do on ‘as seen on TV’ shows. “Ooh, and some tea, and these biscuit things that I’m pretty sure are just cookies. But you know, Europeans, amiright.”

Hyejoo crosses her arms. “Well actually, there’s kind of a difference between biscuits and cookies. British biscuits are mostly crunchy, while American biscuits have texture more like a scone—”

“If I cared about cookies and biscuits so much, I’d have gone to culinary school, Hyejoo,” Jinsol says as she hands the younger girl more boxes of biscuits. “Oh, hey! You know if you’re down for it, Jungeun, I could run out and get us a two-four!”

Jungeun shook her head, waving her hands signaling she’s against the thought. “That’s really not necessary. I’d rather you’re both sober when you’re ‘protecting’ me, and when my roommate gets back…”

As if on cue, Sooyoung walks through the door that was left open, and the confusion in her eyes switches to anger as she makes her way through the two to Jungeun. 

“I thought you said you hated it when I brought random girls in the room?” Sooyoung eyed the two, her stare lingering on Hyejoo a second more.

“That’s a completely other context!”

“Hey, we’re not just random girls, we’re your escorts!” Jinsol proudly says.

Hyejoo finally steps further into the room, approaching Sooyoung with a growing grin on her face. “Just us ladies here to keep you safe from the things that go bump in the night,” she teased. 

Sooyoung clenches her fists, paying no mind to the other two and pulling Jungeun to the side so she could sit her at her desk. “You better get these idiots out of here before I feed them each other’s spleens.”

“Uhhh, I can still hear you!”

“Why’d you let them in?!”

“What part of this looks like ‘let’?!”

“Isn’t this exactly what you wanted when you plastered your little plea for help all over the internet, Lippie?”

“No! And you haven’t even seen my videos, have you?” Jungeun scoffed.

“ _Oh, no! Betty’s missing! Oh, no, Sooyoung mean! Oh, no, but she’s kinda hot!_ “ Sooyoung imitated Jungeun, raising her pitch several times higher than usual. “I think that basically summarizes this whole thing.”

“That was pretty spot on, except the girl playing you is kind of raging bitc—bad person! ...Also, take out that last part.”

“Wohoho…!” Jinsol steps in between the two, trying to dissipate the growing tensions. “Two babes, shouldn’t be fighting. Wouldn’t wanna ruin that pretty face of yours with wrinkles.” Jinsol reaches for a strand of Sooyoung’s hair to swipe behind her ear, but before she could, she doubles over in pain as Sooyoung hits her in the stomach.

“Listen here, Lippie. I’ve had enough of these childish acts of yours, I don’t enjoy getting hauled in front of the dean because of your ridiculous—” she hits Jinsol once more, only this time on the back before she could recover from the initial shock just seconds before, “—project!!”

Hyejoo rushes to the blonde’s side, letting her lean on her for support. “What was that for, you crazy bitch!”

“Watch your tongue, kid,” Sooyoung hissed.

“WAIT! Truce, I call truce!” Jungeun helps Jinsol up as well, rubbing her arms for comfort. “I say we hold a moratorium on my missing roommate investigation, just long enough to get these young lady stalkers out of our hairs, deal?”

Sooyoung pinched the bridge of her nose as she tapped her foot impatiently. “Alright. Deal.”

“Deal…”

As Jungeun’s brooding roommate turns away from her, Jungeun fails to see the change in her eyes that glossed over with desire and a certain king of hunger.

“Ah, I’m so, so sorry that you had to see that side of me…?”

“J-Jinsol! My name’s Jinsol,” she stammered.

Amusement washed over Sooyoung’s face, and it only grows as she gets closer to Jinsol who now sat on the edge of Jungeun’s bed, Hyejoo watched curiously. “Jinsol? That’s a cute name.” Sooyoung trails her hands up and down the shoulders, giving them a light squeeze every now and then, and every time Jinsol would shudder. “Oh, look at _these_ . Such arms, such shoulders, the primitive by way of the neoclassical…”

Jungeun dug through her brain trying to dissect what Jungeun meant. _Primitive neocla—what?? What the hell is she saying?!_

“I mean, psh, yeah. I do try to stay in shape.”

“So, just say when you’re done feeling each other up, I’ll wait.” Hyejoo stood to the side, arms crossed and her nose wrinkled in disgust. 

“Don’t worry, this won’t be long,” Sooyoung’s voice dripped with honey. “I really do hope that side of me isn’t what you’ll remember. I’m not usually that aggressive, not unless you’re into that…”

“OOOOOKAY I THINK IT’S TIME TO GO, GIRLS!” Jungeun tries to separate the too, but Jinsol was too entranced as she stared into Sooyoung’s eyes.

“Relax, Lippie, I just want to get to know our new friends here. Especially you, Jinsol. You’re so cute I could just. Eat. You. Up.” Sooyoung’s face got closer and closer to Jinsol’s but her lips passed the other’s and went straight to the neck.

Jinsol hums, but it soon turns into a yelp of pain. “Ooh, ah, ah! Biting, BITING, OW!” She pushed Sooyoung to the side, jumping off the bed and moving closer to Hyejoo. “What’s wrong with you, psycho?!” Jinsol grabs all the items from the bed and stuffs them back into her duffel bag.

“Oh, won’t you stay a little longer and help protect us poor, vulnerable girls?” Sooyoung asked mockingly.

“Dude, she b-bit me, and not in the good feels type of way! That is so uncool.”

“C’mon, Jinsol. Let’s get outta here.” Hyejoo pulls Jinsol out of the room, making sure to shut the door a little harder than she should have behind her.

Once the two left, the room fell silent once again.

“Ahh, I’m going to miss blondie.” Sooyoung stretches herself out onto Jungeun’s bed, making herself comfortable. “What,” she laughs at the unimpressed expression the brunette wore, “you wanted them gone, didn’t you? I basically just did you a favour, and I don’t usually do favours.”

Jungeun runs a hand through her scalp. “I wanted them _gone_ , Sooyoung! Not _hemorrhaging_ !”

“Woopsie, I guess there goes our truce, then.”

“I’m sorry,” Jungeun groaned. “I didn’t mean to get everyone dragged into this mess and for getting everyone in trouble with the Dean. Plus the town hall fiasco.”

Sooyoung fluffs up one of the pillows and crosses her arms above her head. “So you’ll stop with this mini investigation series?”

“Nope. I’m not apologizing for posting those videos, and there’s no way I’m going to stop.”

“It’s only a matter of time before you get caught. No more shenanigans for you. You’re willing to risk everything for this little series that has, what, three viewers?”

Jungeun cast her eyes to the ground. Sooyoung might actually have a point there. Is she really willing to risk her reputation to figure out what happened to her roommate? But it’s not just her roommate that’s gone missing. Evidently, there were—are other girls too. Clearly, she isn’t going to get any help from the authorities, so who else will do this is she won’t? She must continue this, even with all the obstacles along the way.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her laptop continues to ping repeatedly. “What…?” Soon, her lips turn upwards, and her heart beats faster with glee. “Hey, Sooyoung?”

“Ugh, what is it?”

Jungeun twists her chair around. This time, it’s her turn to act smug. “Yeah, I don’t think the lack of viewers is gonna be the problem.”

—

**Vlog 5: Nancy Drew**

“When I say this all feels so surreal, I mean it.” Jungeun speaks into the camera, enthusiasm overriding her entire body as she bounces up and down. “I thought at least a couple of you guys would have wanted to help after seeing the weird that goes down at this school, but there’s just so many of you! Believe me when I say that I’m overwhelmed.”

Haseul moves into the view, wrapping an arm around Jungeun’s shoulder. “There’s no need to feel overwhelmed, I’ve got your back,” she says, flashing a bright smile at the younger girl. “We’re gonna figure this out together.”

“Uh, y-yeah! Totally!” Redness starts to make its way up Jungeun’s neck, so she turns away from Haseul before she embarrasses herself further. “Yeah, we’ve been working non-stop, and I’m not saying we’re geniuses or anything, but I think we’re super cose to a breakthrough!”

“Oh, no. We’re totally geniuses.” Haseul clicks her pen as she walks over to the white board they’ve set up to match links between victims, evidence, etcetera, etcetera. “Sooner or later we’ll crack the code.”

Sooyoung gags as she takes a soda can out of the fridge in the corner, the two look over at her worriedly. “Sorry. All this talk just got me really nauseous all of a sudden.”

Haseul quirked a brow, watching Sooyoung walk across the room. “Ah, that’s not good. Maybe you should lay down for now.”

Sooyoung throws a sign of the horns up, begrudgingly flopping herself onto the comfort of her bed. 

“So, she’s a little intense…” Haseul whispers.

“You have no idea how it’s been for me…” Jungeun looks over her shoulder to see Sooyoung read one of the many books she’s usually seen reading. “But we’re not here to get hung up on my jerkface roommate, now are we?”

Haseul shoots up, tying her shoulder length bob into a small ponytail. “You’re totally right!” She runs back to the board, tracing every line they’ve made with the end of her pen. “As far as we know, there’s four missing girls. All have disappeared at parties, only two has reappeared, but neither of them has any memory of what happened.”

“The disappearances aren’t all the same, either,” Jungeun recalled. “Rachel and Emma were at completely different parties, and Emma said she was having strange dreams prior to her disappearance. We don’t know if Betty or…”

“The sister’s name was Elsie.”

“Right, we don’t know if Betty or Elsie has had any super creepy dreams either. But no one close to them got a so-called official notecard found in proto-shiitake goop.”

Haseul hums amused. “Wish I’d gotten to see that.”

“You really _don’t_ , actually… but can we think of anything else that links the girls and those parties together?”

Jungeun taps her chin deep in thought, and cue an intense montage of the two gathering the remaining brain cells they have while Sooyoung relaxes, drinking her can of fizz every now and then.

It’s only been less than an hour, but it’s been less than an hour too long. Jungeun massages her head, hoping it wouldn’t burst any second. Pens and markers of different colours scattered the floor and the desk and Jungeun’s bed, and they made good use of the post-it notes, but most of them just had multiple question marks drawn on them.

Jungeun looks up at the camera, her hair disheveled and eyes drooped. “If we go at this any longer, I think my brain is going to melt.”

Similarly, Haseul rests her face in her hands, seated on Jungeun’s bed, although only a couple strands of hair were loose since she had tied it up beforehand. “It’s okay,” she yawned, “we can take a breather. Get you some carbs, caffeine, you know, come at it fresh—”

“OH MY GOSH!” Jungeun runs to the fridge, suddenly full of energy. “I’m a terrible host, I haven’t offered you any drinks or snacks at all since you’ve been here! Would you like some snacks?” She pulls out a few items, “There’s peanut butter, grape soda, and snack cakes. Oh, and some left over cookies from in my desk drawer, I think…”

“Christ, Jungeun, I don’t even know how you’re still alive. Those are filled with polysyllabic chemicals!”

“I don’t know what that means, but I do know that they taste good! And it’s comforting in the face of epic failure.”

“Jungie…” Haseul lays a hand on the brunette’s wrist. “You seriously need a break, and a real meal.”

Jungeun blushes at the contact, finding it hard whether to look at Haseul or the gentle hand on hers. “Psh, it hasn’t been long since school started and I’m already contemplating on the instant noodles diet.”

Haseul sighs, loosening her shoulder. She looks into Jungeun’s eyes intently. “I wouldn’t want to see a girl like you thriving off of empty calories. Say, why don’t we go out some time? Just the two of us.”

“T-Two—Go out? Us two?”

“Yeah, like, to chill for a bit from all this mess. I don’t think I can afford a fancy dinner at the moment, but if you’re into walks in the park and milkshakes…”

Jungeun feels her lips curl involuntarily into a smile. “Oh, um. That sounds great! I—Well, that does sound enticing. I’d be happy to join you for some milkshakes, but I’m more into large chocolate milk tea with a hundred percent sugar, twenty-five percent less ice, and triple the normal amount of pearls.”

“...What the hell?! I reiterate, I don’t know how you’re still _alive_ .”

“I think my system developed a sort of immunity. Evolution!”

“Gosh, you really are something else, Kim Jungeun.”

“I… yeah. You too.”

“God, will you nerds just finish your investigation then leave, already? I’m trying to nap here.” Sooyoung throws her covers above her head.

 _Talk about buzzkill…_ Oh if only Sooyoung knew how much she wanted to finish things up too, because then that means her closet can finally be rid of the endless black sea of leather.

Jungeun groans, her entire body slumping over. “We’ve been going at this for ages and there is just nothing! Zero, nada, zilch.”

“Not nothing…” Haseul strokes her chin, picking up her pen once again and directing their focus to the white board. “Let’s recap. Four girls go missing at different parties: the under the sea swim team party, Summer Society rush party, north quad mixer, psychology wine and cheese.”

“They’re all different events, planned by different groups. I’m not sure they’d all be into some big conspiracy on kidnapping girls.” Jungeun moves her junk food to her desk.

“But look at the party gear—the swim team had a cauldron of Fizzy Dagons. Wine and cheese had a… three foot volcanic replica made with melted brie?”

["Fancy."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOHB85vDuow)

“Mhm. And Summer Society had the bioluminescent candy bugs, north quad mixer had party fog, all at the courtesy of—”

“The alchemy department! You think they’re taking girls?”

“Thin, but it’s a start, Watson.”

Suddenly, Sooyoung throws the covers off the bed as she crawls her way to the fridge, presumably to get another can of concentrated sugar. “Have you even seen any of those lab rats that you’re accusing?” Sooyoung pops the can open and a fizzing sound fills the air. “Most of those kids probably couldn’t even carry a twizzler.”

“Can’t believe I’m actually agreeing with Sooyoung for once, but it’s true. I think we’ll have to talk to Rachel and Emma again to see if anything jogs their memory.”

“Greaaat. Another visit from Miss Madness and Night Terrors, what a blast.”

—

“Oh my GOD! This is so cool, this whole series can be, like, put on tv or something! Like a mystery slash thriller kinda thing!”

Jungeun stares in shock as Emma flipped her once red, now dyed brown hair around. She dressed as if she was ready to go to a party, sequin crop top and high waisted shorts, starkly contrast to the much more reserved and muted clothes she wore when Jungeun first met her and Rachel.

“No, this is all purely personal. A-Are you okay?”

Emma bounces around the room to loud music that could be played at a club. “YES! I’ve never felt any better!”

“Ooookay, because the last time we talked, you were all gloomy and freaked. You went missing, the whole dream stuff—”

“Yeah, yeah—I don’t really care, it was scary but I’m so over that now. Hey, does anyone have any coolers here?

Jungeun looks over to the other girls with pleading eyes, but Haseul looks away, leaning against the closet, and surprisingly Sooyoung is more annoyed than amused at the situation than what Jungeun thought she would be.

It was gonna be a long night.

It wasn’t long until Rachel comes to their room, too, in the same getup as Emma. With Jinsol and Hyejoo right behind her.

Rachel took Jungeun’s usual seat at the desk, Jinsol straddling her with her arms around her neck.

“I like your hair, Jinsol,” Rachel giggled. “Did I ever mention how hot blonde looks on you?”

Sooyoung chokes. “What? You like her hair?? They can practically be mistaken for fried noodles!”

Jungeun stifles a laugh, but she quickly recollects herself to her disgusted state. “So, uh, how long has she been like… _that_ ?”

“Don’t get jealous, little nerd—I mean, Jungeun. Just ‘cuz Rachel caught me before you did, doesn’t mean you’re any less better, don’t worry,” Jinsol says, nuzzling her nose into Rachel’s.

If it weren’t for the fact that Haseul and Hyejoo were preoccupied with trying to hold Emma back from accidentally breaking anything, Jungeun would’ve gladly given the interviewer role over. And Sooyoung, well, she’s as disinterested as usual.

“Alright, first! _Ugh_ ! Secondly, I—”

Rachel puts a finger to Jungeun’s lips mid sentence. “Hey, noooo, don’t be mean to my boo! She’s such a sweetie, she made me hot chocolate when I wasn’t feeling well! And she’s taking me to the party as her plus one next week.”

Jungeun holds her head between her hands in defeat, letting the madness take over her mind.

— 

**Vlog 6: Internet Stalking 101**

“So, I’ve concluded that this university is absolutely wack.”

It’s the next hour since the quick visit from the girls, and as Jungeun looks over the video from earlier, the clips never fails to shock her.

“This whole thing isn’t just kidnapping. I don’t even know how to describe it, it’s like they’re whole other people!” Jungeun shakes her head. “Haseul is looking into the alchemy guys, other than that, I don’t know. They’re weird fellas, but there’s a difference between prehensile cheese and turning girls into pod people.”

“From whatI’ve gathered so far, Emma was here on a full scholarship, and Rachel was a whole premed prodigy before that party. I know Betty was a party animal but…” A light bulb turns on in Jungeun’s head. “Holy crap… she was a party animal, wasn’t she? But what if this party animal thing was happening after whatever went on with Rachel and Emma! And there’s only one way to find out.” Jungeun begins typing away at the keyboard.

An 18-hour workday later, Jungeun stares at the camera with strained eyes.

Sooyoung drags herself out of bed, rubbing her eyes before taking a look at the time on her phone. “G’morning, Lippe.”

“It’s five in the afternoon,” the brunette says, her eyes still trained on the monitor.

Sooyoung stops in her tracks. “What’s an early bird like you still doing here? I’d normally wake up at these hours alone. Except on special nights,” she chuckles.

Jungeun rolls her eyes, deciding not to comment.

“Wait… are you skipping?”

“No.”

“You’re skipping class, aren’t you.”

“I just felt sick.”

“Huh, you kinda do look like shit.” After receiving a glare from the shorter girl, Sooyoung places a mug of freshly made hot chocolate onto her desk. “Welp, I’ve got a talk I wanna catch on Goethe, so. I’ll be back before Thursday.”

Jungeun eyed the mug in suspicion. She wouldn’t be surprised if Sooyoung slipped poison in her drink.

“Try not to get all sweaty and delirious before I get back, I don’t know who else would be here to look after you other than that Summer Society shortie. And I don’t wanna see her any time soon.” Sooyoung exits the room and closes the door gently, leaving Jungeun alone with her thoughts.

She looks at the camera donning a confused expression. “That was… uncharacteristically sweet of her.”

“But anyway—” Jungeun shakes the thoughts away. “After several hours of Facebook stalking, let me reintroduce to you Elizabeth Anne Cooper: high school valedictorian, mayoral page.”

“Turns out, whatever was happening was happening before she even disappeared. And I had no clue… what is going on here?”

Before Jungeun could continue with her stalking, Vivi and Jiwoo burst through the doors (why does she never lock it?).

“JUNGIE HIDE!” Jiwoo frantically tries to shove her into her closet, but her efforts prove to be fruitless.

“What? Why? Hey—stop trying to stuff me in here!”

Vivi attempts to hide Jungeun in the closet as well. “It’s the Dean, Jungeun! She’s coming!” 

Their actions came to a halt when they hear heels clack against the wooden flooring stops at the door.

“Uh, hi, Miss Dean… What can I help you with?” Jungeun removes herself from the awkward position she was in, using her hands to press down on her clothes. She stares up at the pale woman that towers above her.

“I’m here to speak to Miss Ha,” says a deep, monotonous voice.

“Ha?”

“I’d like to speak to Sooyoung.”

— 

“Well, loyal viewers, what a thrilling moment we’ve found ourselves in.” Jungeun giggled to herself. “Our terrifying Dean of Students showed up unannounced to reprimand my awful roommate in the hallway. Naturally, I thought I’d share the fun with you.”

Vivi crosses her arms at Jungeun. “This is too childish, what are we, in elementary school?”

“I can almost hear what they’re saying!” Jiwoo shushed the two, her ear pressed against the door listening intently to their conversation. A couple mumbling later, “ _I didn’t go out of my way to get you accepted here to have you behaving like this_ !”

“Man, she’s def in trouble! Serves her right for being an ass roomie. Maybe if she’s as good a student as she is a roommate—”

“Now, now, Jungeun. Schadenfreude isn’t very attractive.”

“Just because you major in German, Vivi, doesn’t mean you can use words I don’t know on me. It’s not as effective.”

“Guys, SHH!” Jiwoo presses her index onto her lip, gesturing them to be quiet. “ _If you don’t take care of this situation, then I have no choice but to do so myself._ “

Jungeun throws a fist in the air, ready to happy dance at her indirect victory, but Vivi clears her throat, and Jungeun gets the message to stop. 

Jiwoo, who was leaning on the door, trips over herself as Sooyoung enters the room, her head hanging low, and her face looking paler than usual.

An awkward pause.

Vivi takes this as a chance to make a getaway before they get wrapped up with the troublesome roommates further. “As much fun as this has all been, I think Jiwoo and I have some other student crisis to attend to.”

“Huh? No we don’t—” Jiwoo squeaks at Vivi’s glares. “Right! Going, we’re going.”

The door creaks shut, and Jungeun stares at Sooyoung, visibly shaken up. She’s sure she saw a tear fall from her eyes, but it’s hard to tell when her head isn’t lifted up with the usual confidence she wore. Jungeun is gets up to see if her comfort would be accepted, but she decides against it to stay at the safety of her seat when Sooyoung throws one of her books at the wall so hard that it makes a small dent.

“...Did you want to talk about it—”

“No.” Jungeun is immediately shot down.

“M-Managing to survive through a personal chew out from the Dean is, uh, impressively badass, I think.”

Sooyoung looks up at her, and Jungeun can see her mascara had already started to ruin. “But I so had it coming, right?”

“I…”

“Do you think the Dean is raking me out just because I don’t play along with you passive aggressive chore wheel?”

“What else would it be then??”

“I said something that pissed her off.”

“When, in your seminar?”

“God this age doesn’t understand obligation,” Sooyoung grumbled. She gets off her bed to grab a handful of Kleenex for her nose. “It’s like an undersea anchor; impossible to escape.”

It takes a moment for Jungeun to decypher her words. “Ah, worried you aren’t living up to expectations?”

Sooyoung looks back at her expectantly.

“I know how it’s like. I’m the youngest child of a massively overprotective dad.” Jungeun takes a trash can from under her desk and puts it next to Sooyoung’s bed. “And I didn’t even have to be all poetic about my inner turmoils.”

It was hard to notice, but Jungeun was sure the faint curl on Sooyoung’s lips was an actual smile, none of the iconic smirks she’d usually give her.

“...You’re not exactly what I expected, Lippie.”

Jungeun smiles tenderly at her. Maybe she’s managed to make a crack in Sooyoung’s cold exterior. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

“Hey!” Haseul enters the room, her eyes find Sooyoung, “...Guys. I’m sure you’d be happy to hear that I’ve returned from the alchemy department victorious.”

“They’re the ones collecting girls at parties?!”

“Nope! It’s more like they’re the ones collecting dander to apparently seed an immense interconnected fungus throughout campus…”

“I told you those lab rats were weird,” Sooyoung chides in.

Jungeun finds it hard to wrap her mind around the idea. “An interconnected fungus?!”

“It’s a communications experiment. Or a very complicated risotto recipe, I don’t know, but that’s not the victory part!” Haseul takes a USB out of her pocket and hands it over to Jungeun. “These creepy little proto scientists have been photo tracking every single party on campus for their documentation.”

“We have pictures of every party where the girls have disappeared?” Jungeun’s jaws slack. “We can track them all this way! Oh geez, you’re amazing, Haseul!”

“Heh, I like the sound of that.”

Sooyoung clears her throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but I forgot I had to be anywhere but here,” she says, storming out of the room.

“No, that’s too bad, come back!” Haseul shouts for her mockingly. But Jungeun stops her with a tug of her sleeve. “What?”

“Just don’t. She just kinda had a rough day today is all.”

“Aw, you are entirely too sweet. Maybe all that sugar has gotten to your brain…”

“Yeah, yeah. C’mon, we have,” Jungeun looks through the USB’s folders, “hhhhundreds of photos to sort through.” She can already feel her brain short circuiting. “This is going to be incredibly boring.”

And an incredibly boring amount of time later, it’s almost midnight, and Jungeun is knocked out on her desk. Haseul finishes up taking notes of what they’ve found. She looks at Jungeun’s features, unknowing to the smile that grew on her face.

“Jungeun,” Haseul whispers. “Kim Jungeuuuun.”

The brunette’s eyes shot open, and she squeals upon seeing Haseul’s face so up close to hers.

“Aha, I apologize for waking you up, but you need to check this out.”

“H-Huh? What, where?”

Haseul points to the screen. “Look, here’s Elsie, the missing sister. There she is at the rush party. And guess who’s with her.”

Jungeun’s eyes widen in shock. “Holy crud…”

“It’s Sooyoung.”

—

**Vlog 7: Strange**

“Hello, viewers. Haseul had to hit an emergency Summer Society meeting, so it’s just me today. Now, I know we might seem to be overreacting but you’ve got to admit, with the evidence we’ve found, this seems to be a pretty incriminating, I’d say.”

Jungeun proceeds to hold up pictures she printed up to the camera. “Here’s a pic of the under the sea party. And yes, that’s Rachel dancing with a dude who I guess believed that a shirt didn’t go with his seahorse crown.” Jungeun gestures a vomit. “But what’s interesting is that only five feet away, you can clearly see Sooyoung.”

“This is the psychology wine and cheese.” Jungeun holds up a second pic. “So tell me why the hell is a philosophy dilettante doing there?”

“Here’s the nail in the proverbial coffin: Sooyoung talking to, even possibly arguing, with Elsie.” Jungeun dramatically takes out the third picture. “The missing sister. You may remember her as the ‘study buddy’ from my anthropology class! ...If she really is involved with whatever this is, then I don’t think any of us is suited for confrontation if we look back to what went down in my fourth vlog.”

Jungeun intertwines her fingers. “Um. I’m not really sure what to do. The actions that this calls for is actively surveilling, even investigating her! Am I supposed to just completely disregard interpersonal boundaries and essentially stalk her?” She pauses, letting the little voices in her head decide. “Who am I kidding, I’ve been doing this since day one.”

Faint sounds of an angry mob could be heard, and Jungeun whips her head around to Haseul who was already taking it upon herself to lock the door behind her. Upon closer inspection, Jungeun sees paint smudged on Haseul’s face, much like how football players would put a strip of grease under their eyes.

“A-Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they get in here??”

“Woah, slow down! Who are they?”

“Ugh these frat boys. They took Jinsol’s stupid idea of being personal escorts—they called themselves dudescorts—and tried walking the women’s swim team home from the gym, but then one of the girls called us for help.” Haseul pauses to gasp for breath. “But then someone shoved someone who shoved someone else, then it turned into a full on turf war over who’ll protect the gym, or the track, or I don’t know, I didn’t make it too far. I had to know you weren’t wrapped up in it!”

“That’s nice and all, but why are you wearing—?”

Someone knocks rapidly at the door. “Little nerd! Jungeun! Are you in there?!” Jungeun deduces it’s Jinsol.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Jungeun gets up to unlock the door, and Haseul’s face scrunches in terror.

“Hey, Jungeun! Jungeun, what are you doing? Don’t open the door!”

The door swings open, revealing Jinsol who looked out of breath. “Thank God, I was really worried about you because—OW, OW, OW!” 

Haseul drags Jinsol into the room by her ear and onto the bed.

“That is so uncool, Summer Psycho. Not Mark of Kingsbury rules.”

“That’s boxing!” Haseul turns her attention to Jungeun. “I can’t believe you let her in here! For all we know, she’s in cahoots with the guys and trying to take over the dorms!”

“Uhhh, I may have my fair share of bros, but now way will I ever submit my dignity to a bunch of men.”

“You basically started this whole mess, Jinsol!”

“I inspired them, Summer Psycho, there’s a difference! It’s not my fault my presence is inspiring. All I wanted to do is protect hot people.”

With all that’s been going on, Jungeun is surprised Haseul manages to keep her cool. “The only threat to the girls in this dorm is those fratdaddy frats. You managed to cultivate some sort of cult.”

“That is so unfair.” Jinsol stands up, her brows now formed a frown. “I’m the one here out of the, like, bro-ness of my heart, alright? As a friend. I’m not even here to hook up since I’ve already got Rachel.”

“Stop! Guys, calm down!” Jungeun squeezes herself between the two before anything else can happen. “Has it occurred to anyone that while you two are duking it out, no one is out there actually trying to fix the mess outside?!”

“She started it!”

“ _She started it_ , really, Haseul?!”

“I didn’t start anythi—”

“NOT HELPING JINSOL!” Jungeun takes a deep breath from her nose and looks through the window to take a peek. “Can you two skip the smackdown in the middle of my room and go outside to do something useful. Talk some sense into the idiot that’s setting fire to the security carts!”

Wordlessly, the two make their way out. Haseul tries to get her last say in things, but Jungeun shakes her head.

“Ugh, those two… I love them both, I really do, even though Jinsol is a bit of a weirdo herself, but remind me to never put those two in the same room, ever.”

Looking at the time, Jungeun decides she should get the rest she needs and goes to sleep, letting the camera keep playing.

But in the middle of the night, Jungeun turns all the lights back on, and as she looks into the camera, she’s never looked worse in her life.

“There’s nothing… nothing here.” She scratches her head trying to make sense of everything. “There’s _nothing_ . But it felt so real. It felt like a weird moment of clarity during magic hour or the moment before a car crash.”

“It was a dream, I’m sure. Or maybe it wasn’t… but there was something under my bed. Like a dark, prowling thing without a face. Then I heard a little girl crying.” Jungeun could feel her heart beat faster as she tries to recall what happened. “I tried to pull the blankets over my face to hide, but the darkness just seeped in like blood until it was like I was drowning in it.”

Jungeun’s hands trembled as she shuts the camera off.

—

**Vlog 8: I, Spy**

It’s a few mornings later, and Jungeun seems to have recovered from those nights. More or less.

“As you viewers have been kind enough to point out, the unholy night terrors that’s been ruining my sleep may not be related to my diet and sounds awfully similar to that of Lee Emma’s. Right before she got kidnapped…”

Jungeun freezes when she hears someone enter, only it’s Sooyoung.

“You’re jumpy, Lippie. Worried your girlfriend is making peace with the frat boys?”

“Huh? Haseul’s not my girlfriend… I don’t think. Just some weird dreams the last few nights.”

Sooyoung stops messing around with her stuff. “Well, dreams are supposed to be strange, are they not?”

Jungeun reluctantly nodded.

“Last night, I dreamt I was trapped under a bed.”

“You dreamt you were under a bed?”

“Above me was someone crying, too. A little girl in a white night dress.” Sooyoung shrugs. “Then it rained blood everywhere until I drowned, aha!”

“H-How creepily specific.”

“But still just a dream, no? Not much a reason for all of this twitchiness.”

Jungeun swivels in the direction of Sooyoung’s bed. “There’s no twitching!”

“Clearly… you know, if it’s really making you so miserable, I have something to help you sleep.”

“Really?” Maybe she did manage to crack Sooyoung’s cold exterior. “That’s very considerate, Sooyoung.”

“Yeah, well I don’t want you losing it and torching all of my stuff,” the taller girl immediately refuted. She rustles through her purse but decides whatever she was trying to find wasn’t there. “I guess I left it somewhere else. I’ll be back.”

“Uh, yeah! I won’t be going anywhere, anyway…” Jungeun watches Sooyoung leave. “Now that hasn’t been easy! The roommate surveillance project has been active over the last week, and the results have been profoundly WTF.”

“First, of course, are the hours and hours of scientific evidence that she’s the last person I’d ever want to be roommates with. She’s nocturnal, sleeping until four then vanishes like a puff of smoke until just before daybreak; she doesn’t eat anything besides my chocolates I keep stashed and that ‘protein shake’ she keeps in her soy milk container; and I don’t know how a normal human being is capable of spontaneous combustion.” Jungeun is still baffled as she watches Sooyoung set fire to some papers in a trash can without even a lighter—anything that would’ve logically started it.

“We’ve all seen the pictures of her and the missing girls and now all this?” Jungeun notices Sooyoung return and quickly closes her tabs. “S-Sooyoung! Hi, that was quick, I’m totally not doing anything important!”

“Right… that Chungha x Sunmi fic is still on the screen, Lippie.”

Jungeun mentally slaps herself.

“Anyway, I got you this.” She takes Jungeun’s arm and begins to tie it onto her wrist.

“Is that a dried bat wing??”

“Yeah, it’s a charm. Wards off bad dream demons.” Sooyoung catches Jungeun staring at her, and she stares back with an unreadable expression. “You may be annoying sometimes, but if you burn up from sleep deprivation they’ll probably replace you with someone even more infuriating. And I’d rather nothing bad happens to you.”

Jungeun’s face flushes as she notices how close Sooyoung’s is to hers, and she awkwardly chuckles away from her. “Oh, well, thanks! I guess. Uh, in this newfound closeness, maybe you’d like to tell me what you’re up to all night?”

A smirk returns to Sooyoung’s lips as she gets up to leave once again. “I’d have to keep some of my secrets. Otherwise I’d lose my appeal with my air of mystery won’t I?”

Sooyoung exits the room with a certain sway to her hips, and Jungeun’s left confused with her face red as a tomato. Looking down at her wrist, she still feels the warmth of her roommate’s touch linger.

“Is my immoral, possible kidnapper roommate flirting with me??” Jungeun slams her head on the surface of her desk. That’s sure to leave a bruise. “Or… she’s trying to seduce me because I’m next…!!”

Jungeun rips the charm off her wrist and throws it under her mattress, but then she reconsiders and throws it under Sooyoung’s instead.

“Jungie!” Jiwoo leans on the doorway, her auburn bangs bouncing from every step she took. “We lost her again. I tried finding her, even knocking on every stall. I’m developing a reputation with the ladies, and not the kind I’m usually associated with!” Jiwoo stops herself when she notices Jungeun’s defeated look. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Everything’s alright! I just miss my dad. I have papers due. I’m about to be my roommate’s next victim.”

Jiwoo skips to Jungeun’s side. “You really think you’re in the crosshairs of all of this?”

“Even if I am, what amI supposed to do about it? I showed Vivi a footage of Carmilla lifting a 400 pound duffel bag and she suggested that she must just be giving it her all in bootcamp!”

“Yeah, she likes normal. She’s been that way since we were kids,” Jiwoo sighs. “We could, you know, investigate into this ourselves over Vivi’s head.”

“To whom?”

“There’s at least one other person we know who’s as invested in reigning Sooyoung in.”

“Are you suggesting that—”

“You shower, get changed, crash the Faculty Club, and present our evidence to the Dean? Yes, yes I am!” Jiwoo pipes.

“The DEAN! Jiwoo, we’re supposed to be avoiding her!” Jungeun grabs hold of the collar of Jiwoo’s oversized sweater trying to shake some sense into her. “Just looking into her eyes brings me great terror!”

Jiwoo manages to free herself from Jungeun’s grip. “Desperate times call for desperate measures! Now let’s get you changed into something with a little less whiff.”

“Are you saying that I smell?”

“I’m saying that I don’t want the way you smell to affect my credibility with the Dean… Yeah, I’m saying you smell.”

—

“What were you two thinking?! Going out this late at night? Are you two out of your minds?!?”

Jiwoo and Jungeun sits quietly in front of the camera, too intimidated by Vivi’s sudden change of tone from her usual soft one. Instead of fighting back, they let the older girl tend to the cuts and bruises on their faces and arms while Haseul paces around.

“Vivi’s right. You really thought it was a good idea to go out alone without even telling anyone?”

“Okay, but Haseul, you must understand that this was all purely Jiwoo’s idea.”

“Hey! You're the one who enabled me!” Jiwoo hisses as Vivi dips another pad of cotton doused in alcohol onto one of her cuts.

“Uhm. To our loyal viewers! For everyone catching up, basically, Jiwoo and I crashed the Faculty Club.”

“Brilliantly disguised as a young visiting professor and her assistant. It was my idea, by the way,” Jiwoo adds.

Jungeun deadpans into the camera, “And it was because of you that our cover was blown before we could get to the Dean because you decided to get into an argument with the head of gnostic mathematics over the long term strategic plans for the illuminati.” 

“It was a chance to raise awareness!”

“But as we were bodily dragged from the club, I snatched this,” Jungeun holds up a picture frame with multiple young women, “off the wall. This is the Dean’s special council meeting in 1954. So,” Jungeun points at a woman in the middle, “is that Sooyoung’s grandmother? Great aunt? Great something?? There’s no names on the back of the photo. But there is a way to find out!”

“Oh, sure,” Haseul bitterly snickers, “tell it like this insane plan you two hatched was the next logical step.” She walks over to the camera and speaks to it, but not before glaring at the two. “Do you know what these two did? At almost seven? These geniuses hit up the library—”

“In retrospect, I admit it wasn’t the best idea. Everything was fine! Until the sun went down and we started to hear something skittering. But we made it into the first sub-basement just fine.”

Jiwoo nods along. “The online system was really helpful, it gave us a cross reference list before we even started typing!”

“So we found most of the old textbooks before, uh, between nineteen—”

“Before you realized the staircase wasn’t in the same place anymore?” Vivi interrupted.

“...Before we realized we might have gotten a little turned around.” Jungeun looks back at Haseul who is still glaring at her. “And that most of the computers we could see were warning us to Run, Run NOW .”

“That’s when we noticed that some of the books were pretty much airborne!” Jiwoo purses her lips tight. “Then we were caught up in a vortex of modern literature.”

“And we did what any normal person would do next!”

“We created a flamethrower using a lighter and some mace Jungeun’s dad makes her carry around!!” There was a glint in Jiwoo’s eyes as she said this, and it only slightly worried the others with how enthusiastic she was saying all this. “The plan worked! We weren’t trapped in a vortex of modern literature anymore.”

“Which left us trapped in a flaming vortex of modern literature.”

Haseul groans. “That’s when I get a text telling me ‘Come quick. Stuck in library. Bring fire extinguisher.’”

“Yeahhhh but it turned out fine, the sprinklers came on and we snuck out the basement windows! Now can we please skip to the part where once every twenty years, this girl shows up at Silas like clockwork.” Jungeun gestures for Jiwoo to take out the pictures they pinched at the library.

“Behold,” Jiwoo started, “Ha Sooyeon… Ha Soyoung… Ha So—”

“The point is that she switches the letters in her name from time to time. And every time she does, a girl goes missing. Poof. Vanish. GONE.” Jungeun hums to herself, the skin between her brows wrinkling at the thought. “This kinda sounds weird to say, but she’s nocturnal, has super strength, at least 80, drinks blood…”

“Well, yeah I thought we already established that she’s a vampire. We’ve known that since the whole blood in your soy milk thing, right?” Jiwoo innocently looks around looking for nods of affirmation, but all she receives are confused stares. “Wow, guess I was the only perceptive one this time, huh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> say hi to me on twt or cc @ideallyves, or you could also comment, winkity dink.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading this far, hope you'll look forward to the next chapters
> 
> i'd appreciate it if you commented or said hi on cc so i can feel validated 😔😔
> 
> twt/cc - ideallyves


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